World

Another Year, Another Man for TIME

Of the 86 "Person of the Year" issues TIME has published since 1927, only five featured a woman.

Two of those women were famous for their relationship with a male world leader. Wallis Simpson, who won in 1936, "captured the heart of Edward, the Prince of Wales," which eventually led to his resignation and made her the most famous woman in Britain. Madame Chiang Kai-Shek had to share her "Man and Wife of the Year" award in 1937 with her husband, China's Premier Chiang Kai-shek. The third female winner was Elizabeth II in 1952, and we didn't see another woman take the cover on her own until 34 years later when Philippine President Corazon Aquino won in 1986. The final three women, Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley and Sherron Watkins, were grouped together in the 2002 issue for their role in exposing Enron.

If, in 1,000 years, a history class studied TIME magazine's Person of the Year record, it would seem that no woman broke through a ceiling, successfully ran a top company or started a revolution. In fact, if this were our official record, she was still in the shadows, playing second fiddle to a dominant gender.

TIME has featured groups that included women — "The Good Samaritans" in 2005 and an illustration of a woman for "The Protestor" in 2011 — and it had a whole POY issue dedicated to American women in 1975. (You can see the list in full below.) But never was there another woman deemed valuable enough to stand alone on that top tier.

That's not for a lack of contenders.

Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus in 1955, starting one of the biggest movements in protest of racial segregation. Harlow Curtice, president of General Motors, won POY that year. Margaret Thatcher became the first and only female British Prime Minister in 1979, but she never won throughout the 20 years she held office. The inaugural Person of the Year issue — at the time dubbed "Man of the Year" — was awarded to Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for his solo flight across the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart did it one year later. But by then it was old news, and POY went to Walter Chrysler.

It's not about naming a female for the sake of the gender equality. It's about recognizing people beyond the status quo, such as Mother Teresa, Golda Meir, Helen Keller, Maya Angelou, Madeleine Albright, Sally Ride, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton — all of whom the publication has overlooked.

When TIME's current Managing Editor, Nancy Gibbs, announced this year's award on the Today show Wednesday morning, she described the ideal winner as someone who's had "the most impact on our lives — for better or worse." Did none of these women fit that bill? Or is it because their cover wouldn't sell?

You could argue that other notable women have been highlighted in the issue as part of the "shortlist" of runners-up. Edith Windsor, who has been a force in the gay rights movement, came in third place this year. Malala Yousafzai was heavily featured in last year's issue when she took second place. But can you honestly recall who came in second place three years ago? How about 10? Certainly not 20.

It's not just the men who are taking risks and making headlines. If TIME truly wants to live up to its name, it has to look at this 86-year list and ask itself, is this the record we want?

Update, Dec. 11, 11:30 a.m.:TIMEpublished a story on Wednesday by Deputy Managing Editor Radhika Jones, who addresses the gender imbalance of the magazine's Person of the Year award.

Editor's Note: For this story, we calculated only the covers that featured a solo winner, with the exception of the 1937 issue that featured a husband-wife team and the 2002 issue that featured a female-only group. Not included in these figures were issues featuring large groups, movements or ideas. The chart below illustrates all the winners, denoting individuals who have won multiple times.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.